Matrix Age Management Blog

3 Ways To Stop Holiday Weight Gain

Worried about packing on the pounds over the holidays? The following tips will help you to stay slim while still enjoying yourself.

Only Buy Foods You Have To Prepare

The easiest way to overload on calories is to have lots of ready-to-eat food around. Items like chips, dips, cereal, ramen noodles, and peanut butter all provide tons of calories for little effort. It's easy to grab these foods when you're bored or mildly hungry, start eating and end up consuming too much without even thinking about it.

By avoiding processed food and sticking to whole, real foods, this is easier to accomplish. You can't eat these foods on a whim; you'll have to prepare them first. The more time and effort it takes to prepare your food, the less likely you'll be to eat for no good reason, and the easier it will be to stick to your nutrition goals.

Eat A Small Snack Before Each Party

Fun as they are, holiday parties are the worst for people who are trying to stick to a healthy way of eating. How can you avoid overeating when there are dozens of casseroles, dips, chips and hors d'oeuvre right at your fingertips – not to mention calorie-rich drinks like punch, beer and eggnog? As strange as it sounds, the best way to avoid overeating at parties is to have a snack before you go to them. Try to eat some form of protein and or fat, such as olives and cheese or a handful of nuts. If you do this, you won't be as hungry when you get to the party and will thus have an easier time restraining yourself in the face of delicious, calorie-loaded party foods.

Give Yourself Permission To Indulge (Sometimes)

Taking care of your health with a sound nutrition program is a lifelong commitment. One of the biggest mistakes that healthy eaters make is to hate themselves every time they eat something that doesn't fit their plan. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good choices.One bad choice doesn’t mean you can’t recover the rest of the day. If you curse yourself for overeating at a party, you're likely to conclude that you have no self-control, and if you have no self-control, you won't even try to stop yourself in the future. Instead, remember healthy eating is a continuum. Every good choice you make is an irrevocable good thing you’ve done for your health. One poor choice is just that – ONE poor choice.